The Grenada gazette., 1887-10-01
NEGRO suPERsTITloNs.
southern Darlkies Who Soc an Omen ID
Nearly Every Animate Object

The belief has prevailed among the
Southern negroes for many years that
the hand of a dead friend will bring
continued prosperity to its possessor,
and no doubt if the many colored
sraveyards in that section were made
to give up their dead the skeletons Of
not a few would be found to be minus
the right hand. The Southern blacks
also believe that the big toe of de-
ceased friend. carried on the person,
will keep away disease, and that the
toes of an enemy can be used as
charms to conjure their living enemies.
Thus it is they originated the lines:
Wild dis honey toe
I'll bring dem woe,
| Fore daylight in de mornin'.
| Voudoo doctors-and there are plen-
ty of them in the Southern States
carry on an extensive traffic in human
bones and other portions Of the body.
They use the skull to perform mystic
ceremony for the sick, or to bring luck
to a poverty-stricken family; the cars
are employed in another ceremony.
the outcome of which is to find out
what your enemies are saying about
you, and the other bones all have u
mission to perform while the voudoo is
humbugging his victim. The voudoo
doctor is usually naturally smart
darky, with good flow of CONVERSE
ton. and as much inventive genius as
u Bowery confidence man. In WASH
ington of late the voudoos have become
rather scarce. as the police arrest them
as vagrants whenever they put in an
appearance.
The country negroes in South Caro-
lima, Georgia and portions Of Florida
have very pretty and somewhat poet
ical superstition. During the stiffness
of the night, when the gentle swaying
pine trees are singing their weird re-
quicms. whole families will sit about
their cabin doors and listen intently to
this music of the forest. In its chang
ing melody they hear the voices of dead
friends predicting good or evil for the
future or revealing secrets of the tomb.
No reward could induce the negro
surfmen on the North Carolina coast
to walk along the beach at night, es.
pecially during a storm, when the
lightningis flashing and the huge white
capped breakers come sputtcring in on
the sandy beach. They imagine they
can see in the phosphorcscent light tho
forms of sailors who were lost at sea,
riding in astride of the huge pillows.
On account of this superstition it has
been found impossible to induce negro
coastmcn to enter the life-saving SELL
vice, no matter how well adapted they
may be for the work. The tedious
night patrol along the desolate sea-
shore is what they object to. The aver
age seashore negro would almost rather
die than to encounter the vague form
of a departed sailor man in the surf or
on the beach.
There are many minor superstitions
among the colored people. If COW
stops in front of house and bellows it
isa sure sign that some one on the
premises will die. If the COW bellows
twice the party marked for dissolution
will die in two days, two weeks or two
months. Should the animal below
five times, which is rare occurrence,
adeath will occur in less than one week.
When q cock enters the house and
crows therein, it means that the fami-
ly will have visitors. To crow Just
outside the door indicates that
the residents of the house will be
suddenly called away on a mission.
Sometimes an overfed hen will make
sound which resembles the faint crow.
ing OF young rooster. This is re.
garded as IN evil omen. and the luck
less hen is always decapitated when the
owner is at all superstitious. Scien-
lists say the sound is caused by indi-
gcstion. The darkies have verse they
repeat IN this connection. 1t is this:
A whistling woman
And o growing hen
viii never come
To any good end.
The owl usually hoots three times.
When this uncanny bird forgets itself
and increases the number of boots to
four or five, the plantation negroes re-
gard it rs an omen Of sickness, starya.
ton or death. To kill cat means
that the person who did the killing will
have seven years Of bad luck. To
catch q water-snake on your fishing
line is sure sign that your enemies
are trying to entrap and kill you.
Ihus the negroes say:
Catch snake,
Let him 10,
For death Ia comm
Sho md sho.
To see q flock Of crows lowering
about your house is very bad sign,
and to drop your Bible while going to
church indicates that the devil is after
you. To see three white horses ut the
same time is an omen Of death. and to
find u toad frog in your path is u GER
tain sign that marriage will shortly
take place in your family. The aver.